Radio Catskill - The Kingfisher Project

My guest is Prof. Thomas Van Nortwick, an emeritus professor of Classics at Oberlin and someone I’ve known since the fall of 1960. Together, we’ll reflect on what it was like to grow up in a home shaped by substance use and how those early experiences stay with us. 

We’ll also explore Rebecca Pisall’s story, viewing it through Tom’s Classicist perspective—bringing ancient insights to a very modern struggle. 

Dr. Arthur Robin Williams, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. 

Dr. Williams, a leading voice in the field of substance use disorders, will discuss his work and research with a special focus on Ophelia—a platform that expands access to evidence-based telehealth treatment for opioid use disorder.

We’ll explore how telehealth is transforming the treatment landscape, especially in rural and underserved communities like ours, where access to care can be limited. Dr. Williams will also share insights on the future of addiction care, the challenges patients face, and the role technology can play in reducing stigma and improving outcomes.

 In this episode, my guests are Jody D’Agostini (Founder and Board Chair, right) and Andi Williams (Executive Director, left) of Community in Crisis. Based in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey, Community in Crisis works to reduce substance use and its impacts by uniting communities through education, prevention, and holistic recovery support—free from stigma. 

Dr. Stephen Loyd is a nationally recognized expert in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine, currently serving as Director of West Virginia’s Office of Drug Control Policy and Chief Medical Officer at Cedar Recovery in Tennessee. Formerly Tennessee’s Assistant Commissioner for Substance Abuse Services, Dr. Loyd has been a pivotal voice in shaping statewide pain treatment guidelines—especially for opioid-dependent pregnant women.

With experience as an expert witness in high-profile prescription drug cases and recognition as an "Advocate for Action" by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Dr. Loyd’s impact spans drug courts, anti-drug coalitions, and law enforcement efforts across the country.

His personal journey is just as powerful—Dr. Loyd has been in recovery from opioid and benzodiazepine addiction since July 8, 2004. His lived experience fuels his relentless commitment to reform and recovery advocacy. He even inspired the character Dr. Finnix, portrayed by Michael Keaton in Hulu’s award-winning series Dopesick.

Dr. Loyd is more than a physician—he’s a leader, a changemaker, and a source of hope.

On this week’s episode of The Kingfisher Project, we are honored to welcome Alexander Y. Walley, M.D., M.Sc., a nationally recognized expert in addiction medicine and overdose prevention. Dr. Walley is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and the Director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at Boston Medical Center.

With deep expertise in the intersection of substance use and public health, Dr. Walley has dedicated his career to advancing care for individuals affected by addiction. He is an active clinician, providing both primary care and addiction treatment to patients with HIV, and also works in methadone maintenance treatment at Health Care Resource Centers.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Walley leads research focused on overdose prevention and the medical complications of substance use, particularly HIV. He also serves as the Medical Director for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Pilot Program, playing a critical role in the state’s response to the overdose crisis.

His work integrates medical care, harm reduction, and education, and his insights offer valuable lessons for anyone interested in understanding and addressing substance use in our communities.

This is a conversation filled with knowledge, compassion, and actionable insight. We promise—there is so much to learn from listening to Dr. Walley.

Kevin Hyer is a management-side labor and employment attorney in long-term recovery from Methamphetamine Use Disorder. He is the CEO of The Hyer Calling Foundation (THCF), a Philadelphia-based nonprofit with a satellite office near Richmond, VA.  

THCF helps individuals in recovery secure second-chance careers through free, personalized support services not covered by insurance. It also educates employers on the benefits of a Recovery-Friendly Workplace.  

Kevin holds degrees from Penn State's School of Labor and Employment Relations and the University of Baltimore Law. He serves as Board Counsel for Faces & Voices of Recovery and sits on the Board of the FL Recovery-Friendly Workplace Coalition. Before founding THCF, he spent a decade practicing law at SEIU Healthcare PA, Compass Group USA, and Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP.

On the Kingfisher Project, Tuesday, February 4th, at 6:00 PM EDT on Local Edition, Radio Catskill

Guests, Lindsey Vuolo and Robyn Oster from the Partnership to End Addiction, are experts in health law and policy. Lindsey, the Vice President of Health Law and Policy, and Robyn, the Associate Director of Health Law and Policy, work to shape federal and state policies that improve addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery.

Dr. Fred Muench is a clinical psychologist and digital health expert, formerly president of the Partnership to End Addiction and now a professor at Hofstra University. He’s known for pioneering digital interventions, like AI and text-based tools, to address adolescent substance use, especially around cannabis. 

Dr. Muench continues to lead innovation in behavioral health through The Unregret Foundation and Vagus Labs.

Jessica Hoppe, author of the newly released memoir FIRST IN THE FAMILY – A Story of Survival, Recovery, and The American Dream. Jessica is a Honduran Ecuadorian writer based in New York City.  She has been featured on ABC News and HBOMax Pa’lante! and her work has appeared in the Latino Book Review, The New York Times, Vogue, Paper Magazine, and elsewhere.  Jessica is a board member of Time of Butterflies, a non-profit supporting families through domestic abuse recovery, and an organizer with the Central American Writer’s group.

Previous Kingfisher guest Carl Erik Fisher, MD writes: “FIRST IN THE FAMILY sings with love and shouts with rage, offering an uplifting account of resilience and recovery even while calling out the seductive dangers of the American Dream.  Jessica Hoppe has crafted an important, pathbreaking contribution by distilling the historical stakes of the addiction crisis while simultaneously presenting a wrenching and unique personal narrative. It’s an insightful chronicle of the burdens of specialness, the weight of intergenerational trauma, and the stigma of addiction.  In the end, it’s an inspiring and essential message that there are numerous and diverse pathways of recovery.”